My Baby is Becoming a Little Boy

I have tried to deny it for a while now. I have ignored the signs, pretended not to see the changes. But like it or not, it has happened. My baby is becoming a little boy right before my eyes. It seems like it happened overnight, but truthfully he has been developing rapidly over the last couple of months. When we went to visit Dad at the beginning of April, he could barely scoot on his belly across a blanket to get to a toy. Over the month of April he got better and better at what Robbin calls, and I have stolen, the army man crawl. Belly on the floor, arms and legs working in unison to scoot himself rapidly across the floor. He finally started sitting up a little more as we went into May, ( a skill I was worried he would never master; turns out he was just too busy to sit still)and his motor skill development with his toys improved dramatically.

Then in mid-May we had the big game-changer. We took a trip to Morehead, and during that weekend he got to meet Max, son of Amy and Wayne, who is just over 3 months older than Will. Max could crawl like a champ, sometimes on his hands and feet rather than knees, and he could pull up to standing on any stationary object. Well, never let it be said that my son isn't competitive, because within the brief playtime they shared, Will took his first fully crawling steps, and managed to pull up on a music table belonging to Max. It was amazing. He had never made it past getting into the crawling position prior to this visit, let alone shown any signs of trying to pull up on something. Thank you Max for showing Will the way.

Now I truly have a rug-rat. Gone are the days that I could set him down for a minute to take something to the kitchen or run to grab something from his room and come back to find him in the general vicinity of where I left him. We have now entered the world of baby gates and child-proofing EVERYTHING and the word "NO". His almost simultaneous discovery of how to pull up to standing has also added to this interesting new child I live with. Seeing him stand without my help is a big sign slapping me in the face that my baby isn't so little anymore.

With all the freedom of movement and need to explore everything I have lost the little guy who was perfectly content to cuddle in Momma's lap. It is sad to realize that this is just the first tiny little taste of what will be the journey of independence my son will make away from me. It is a good journey, and so important for the man he will become, but it is also hard on me. I knew he wouldn't stay my little baby forever, but I wasn't prepared for how fast it would go. So I am a little sad sometimes to see how big he is already.

The upside is huge though. I have this expressive, energetic, inquisitive, funny, stubborn, smart little boy who makes me laugh all the time and causes me to see things so differently now. Everything is exciting for him, and as a result, for me. He wants to know what everything is, and wants to get his hands on it. It can be exhausting, but also stimulating. I appreciate things so much more. I look forward to little activities and new experiences equally. He makes life so much richer. I am so glad that I get to see the world through my little boy's eyes.